are there any circumstances where you'd apply to a carrib school first? my college GPA was pretty low (2.7 i think) and i had a bunch of grades of F in soph. yr. I ended up going back to a different college (transfered), working out some personal problems, and graduating my new school with honors... but the F's from the first school still killed me. then a few yrs later, i did the premed reqs as a postbac... i dont have a lot of time to waste, for family reasons i either need to commit to a career or start med school in a year... if i wait a cycle out (the fall 09 applications to us schools) and strike out, i'll be putting severe strain on my family and marriage.

if you had a 2.7 college GPA followed by a 3.3 postbac, would you wait and apply in the US? assume that my MCAT would be at least 30, bc so far my practice test avg is 32 or 33.

thanks in advance for any suggestions... i know the decision is mine, but im just wondering what others think. dont you think i'm risking 'striking out' if i apply in the US? my college GPA was *terrible* and i have a bunch of B and B- grades in my postbac that bring my postbac avg down (lots of A's but some lower grades too)

your GPA is low, but if you do score well on the MCAT, SGU, AUC, Saba and Ross would be better choices.

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I'm like Internationally-known

Briefly, why are those 4 better choices?

Also, my postbacc GPA should be about 3.5 when I'm done in May. I took a total of about 50 credits of sci classes since college graduation... so its not like I got the ~3.5 in just a few classes. If you were me, would you suck it up and spend the money and time applying in the US? It is doable but I am almost 30 and its going to be hard on my family to delay this another year, esp with uncertain prospects.

What's hard for me to understand is how the Carib could be so undesirable a route. It would seem to me that a good STEP I score will open doors for residency, even if you go to MD school in the carribean. How hard is it? And why is it so hard?

Your first post in this thread related to accreditation. These 4 programs are licensed in all 50 states, so you won't ever need to concern yourself about practicing medicine in the states. Each of the 4 has its adv. and disadv. but at least you know that when you finish you will be able to practice medicine.

Who knows, UMHC might end up becoming one of the best choices for medical school in the Caribbean, and Dr. Ross has a faily good track record, but right now they are unproven, so it's more of a risk for you to go with a program that just getting started than with one that has a proven track record.

The best answer I can give you is this:
I have a 3.35 overall; good LORs, and a 31R on my MCAT. I've only received 1 US interview so far out of the 22 schools I applied to. My weak point is not enough extra-curriculars. But I applied late in the cycle.
Being a non-trad student I'm not sure how they're going to view your application; while it's possible to get in with a 2.7 you need a really good MCAT score to do this; I would say higher than 32 or 33.
You also need some Letters of Reccomendation and to show that you're invovled in your community. Or maybe not; I don't know how they view non-trads. But do you have any healthcare related experiences? Or maybe some volunteer work or anything?
So if you apply broadly and very early in the cycle and get a stellar MCAT score the best anyone can tell you is maybe.
Also realize that applying to 22 US schools cost over $2k and takes a lot of time with secondaries and can cost even more if you get interviews and have to fly all over the country for them.
You might want to consider to applying to a few DO schools as well. Many of those schools require that you shadow a DO and obtain a letter of reccomendation from a DO as well.

Your points about the COSTS are one of the reasons I am hesitating to wait and apply in the US. As you say, even with a 3.35 and a 31R, you have one interview... that has to suck... I wish you the best.

I'm shooting for an MCAT around 33 or so. My practice tests are in the 32-34 range but I am being conservative and just hoping to stay in that range, not expecting a 35 or higher.

The costs (2k at a minimum for ~20 applications) and the time is another huge cost... while I apply to US schools I will continue volunteering (I do a good amount of that now) and probably take a relatively low-paying hospital job. Thus, I'd really be better off just sucking it up and giong to the caribbean now UNLESS i think I really will get into a US school.

For what its worth, if I don't apply for the Carrib schools for september, I will take the MCAT this May and apply early in the US cycle--submitting all the AMCAS stuff by early July.

The huge question is, is it worth giving up a year of my life and filling out 20 applications, flying to interviews, and paying all the fees... just for a shot at some US DO school? I realize this is an opinion question--so I'm just seeking opinions. I want more imput that I can get in real life. I already talk to people about this in real life and I already do my own research... just wondering what others can add.

For me, at least, waiting an extra year to just take a shot at US med schools has real consequences. Paying all the money and interviewing all over would kill me if I jsut end up goign to the caribb anyway. I'm trying to gauge if I should just face that fate now... because I don't see how a caribb school is any worse than, say, the lower end of DO schools that I'd probably be looking at anyway.

for reasons stated above the 4 carib schools that have been around the longest with track records of continued improvements are ross, agu, auc, and saba

with ross, sgu, auc you will have no issues in california, any states that use its list, they are also approved by texas as equivalent schools and all have government backed stafford loans. collectively these 3 have over 10,000 fully licensed practicing doctors in the US

saba has california, no texas yet but will also afford the same opportunities as the other three. with your stats and a 30 on the mcat you have a shot at any of the above.

the rest of the schools in the carib are further down the list because they have more issus, not as many grads, not as many approvals, loan options, etc, etc. therefore the rest are last option schools. out of your last option schools places that just opened up like uhms, st theresa, xavier, etc are at the bottom of the bottom because they have nothing to show for yet. granted out of the pack uhms probably has the best shot to survive because Mr Ross brings in years of experience but its still years and years away from being in the same circle as the other 4

new schools are there to cater to people who have absolutely no other options, you have options and while i agree that a shot at a US school is a long one you have a really good shot at a foreign school with a long track record and no questions as to where and how you can practice

also the carib is not the be all and end all of foreign schools that take US students. the royal college of surgeons in ireland has the bridge program, schools in australia, israel, and eastern europe also have routes to coming back to the US..so look at the best option not just the quickest in the long run 6 months or a year waiting to get into a decent school wil lsave you a lifetime of trying to practice somewhere you can't

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OBGYN PGY II
I see light at the end of the tunnel!!!...wait a minute its just another freakin tunnel!

everything that AUC said and....

expense is not limited to just applying to a vast amount of US schools and hoping to get a shot. Coming down to the caribbean will in an of itself cost you more. Its not just the tuition and living expenses, but you will probably have to pay for a review course come step time (many US students will not),your steps will cost more (3-400 dolloars more for each test) you will have to travel around for rotations and pay the crazy high rents for short term leases, you will more than likely have to live in the more expensive areas of the country (ie NY) to do rotations, you will have to apply to more programs and interview more places (thus more expense ) to get a decent number of places to rank when applying for residency.....and so on...

yes you stats make it a long shot, but better to have tried and know...

but that saying if you really think the caribbean is the way to go, the way to go is not a brand new school when you have a good chance at going to a more established school. I, too, agree with people UMHS will probably be a strong contender and in 5-10 years it will probably be the big 5- Dr. Ross has the know how and connections to make this school work, but an established school with a proven track record and graduates in practice and residency will serve you better in the long run.

apply here, but research and apply to sgu, auc, ross, and saba as well- you do have a good shot at those schools with the stats you currently have...

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UMHS School Official:
Is UMHS WHO approved? Will grads be allowed to obtain licensure in NH,VT,CT and NY? As I will want to practice in New England and or New York, this is important to me. Thank you for your assistance.

Sorry to be so late answering this. I got distracted with school business and missed seeing your questions.

WHO no longer maintains the list of international medical schools that are accredited. FAIMER now has the IMED list. Our documents have been submitted to them by the Ministry and it is only a matter of time until our listing appears.

The safest bet regarding licensure is to check with the state medical boards themselves. They can give you an answer regarding whether future graduates of UMHS will be eligible for licensure. Be sure that they understand that this is a new school and where we are in our development!

What I can tell you now is that many of our clinical sites will be in the regions that you are describing and we foresee no problems getting approval in NY and NJ when we become eligible, but the states control licensure and I' like them to give you an answer.